Title: Last Confession (John 21:15-17)
Contents
Title Last Confession / Scripture John 21:15-17 / Space Daebok Church
***Introduction
If there were any form of God's love, what would it be? Perhaps reliable, reliable, and rock-like as wide as the sea. Why? This is because it is a love that does not change under any circumstances and conditions, and embraces even the changing hearts of people.
The short text of this hour is a conversation the resurrected Jesus had with Peter before his ascension into heaven. The Lord's voice asking Peter is calm and determined, and Peter's answer to that question seems to be terrified, not knowing where to put himself. But the Lord did not ask or question a single word about Peter's betrayal. It is like the image of the father who greeted the prodigal son who had been prodigal when he returned.
Before ascending to heaven, the Lord did not forget to look for Peter, who must have suffered the shame and deep agony of betrayal. The Lord has prepared a place to free Peter's heart and to arm him firmly with a new mission. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than others?” The Lord wanted to hear Peter's sincere confession. If the Lord asked you this question, how would you answer it?
1. The Lord's Questions and Our Thoughts
The Lord already knows our thoughts and knows what we will do. In other words, the Lord asks us not because we do not know. He wants to hear our ‘honest confession’. However, in many cases, we are not a true confession of faith about the Lord's Word, but a human confession. Why are you so stupid? The reason is that we don't think that the Lord knows what we think of our hearts or what we haven't done yet. Let's look at Peter and organize our thoughts.
During the Lord's public life, Peter has always been a dignified disciple. Like his hot-blooded personality, he liked to make good promises. Of course, there were many mistakes. After seeing the Lord walking on the water, he said that he wanted to walk on the water too, and he was ashamed of falling into the water quickly. To the Lord's words, "Before the rooster crows tonight, you will deny me three times." He assured me, "Even if I die, I will not betray you." When the Lord was arrested, he drew a sword and wielded it. When the Lord was arrested, he said, 'I do not know because I cursed and swore to the Lord.'
There are many things the Lord foretells before things happen. The reason I told you in advance is so that when you encounter such a thing, you will know that it is from God and you will not fall. Nevertheless, what does Peter's repeated mistake mean? This indicates that Peter did not listen to the Lord. In the end, Peter ignored the words of the Lord who knew him and made his own standard of faith.
Maybe the figure of Peter is not what we are today? Even today, many people live a life of faith with their own standards of faith. Most of these standards of belief are distorted. In other words, they decide whether to receive or not receive God's word according to their own standards. Also, the standard is used to measure the faults and sins of others rather than applying them to one's own faults and sins. This kind of faith appears because you have not felt God's love deeply and do not know God well. That is, they misunderstood God.
One day, a Sunday School teacher emphasized to the children that we need to “humanely confess our sins to God.” After the lesson, I asked questions to see if the children were well received. “Come on, how many sins do you want to confess to God?” But the children sat quietly like a dead mouse. Finally, a short boy stood up and said with a flash of his hand. “Sir, I have no sin to confess to God. But I know who I have to confess my sins to.”
This child is also applying the Word of God to others, not to himself. We often want ourselves to be an exception to a rule. Perhaps we would like to see more exceptions from such things as confession of sin, repentance, suffering, and discipline. However, there are no exceptions in the work of the Spirit. Not only that, but the standard of faith is only the Word of God, and it applies equally to all people.
2. Confessional Faith
Faith toward God consists of believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth. Romans 10:10 says, “With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made, resulting in salvation.” In other words, faith toward God is faith and works.
“I am a sinner. I went to shrine worship. I am a person who cannot take more than that. I do not consider this award to be an award given to me personally. It is an award given to Youngnak Church and I think it is an award given to the Korean church.”
“You know that I love you.” This confession was not like Peter, who had always liked to go out and made good promises. It was an expression of the serious and cautious new determination of Peter who had experienced bitter failure. Indeed, from then on, Peter will continue to lead a faithful life, giving the best of his life. Perhaps Peter thought of this last confession before the Lord every day.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who insisted on serving only God, believed that “the God whom we serve will save us” in the furnace of their own death. But their final confession was a bold cry, “Even if it is not so, know, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we bow down to the golden image you have set up!”
In the midst of a national crisis, like a windmill, Esther went to the king, ready to die. “If I die, I will die.” It was Esther's last confession.
“I have already been poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” These are the last words of the Apostle Paul. That is, it is a confession that the good fight and the life of keeping the faith were poured out on the sacrifice along with all of one's own.
What kind of confession do you want to make at the end of your life? Are you living your life for that confession? I bless you in the name of the Lord that your life every moment of every day will lead to a life of true confession toward God.